Returning to action

Friday, April 21, 2017

There will be one home nation favourite gracing the waters of Hyères, France from 23 - 30 April for round two of the 2017 World Cup Series when multiple World Champion Billy Besson steps back onboard the Nacra 17.

Besson, along with partner Marie Riou, won all four Nacra 17
World Championship titles in the Rio 2016 quadrennial but failed to
capitalise on that dominance as a back injury hampered any Olympic
medal ambitions the pair harboured.

There will be a Riou partnering Besson once again in Hyères, but
this time it will be in the shape of former Laser Radial
competitor, Amélie. Despite the name, the two Riou's aren't related
and have mixed sailing backgrounds. For Amélie it is quite a shift
in gear to go from the One Person Dinghy to the Two Person
Multihull and this will be a tough first test.

Like many French sailors, Besson has a strong history of sailing
catamaran's and took that experience to help former partner Marie
adapt from match racing to make a formidable Nacra 17 team. Besson
will need to weave some more magic on the younger Riou, Amélie,
while putting the disappointment of the injury ravaged Rio Games
behind him to look to Tokyo 2020.

While Besson used time between major regattas to recover from
injury, Ben Saxton (GBR) has had to use his time between winning
the World Cup Series Miami and Hyères to find a new partner after
Nicola Groves made the decision to pursue challenges out of the
water. Stepping in to Groves' shoes for Hyères is Steph Orton who
moves from the 49erFX.

Although being among the youngest team in the fleet, New
Zealand's Olivia Mackay and Micah Wilkinson already know what it
takes to win becoming Red Bull Foiling Generation champions in 2016
and have good experience in the Nacra 17.

Still learning their trade in the Nacra 17 are Austria's Nico
Delle-Karth, who sails with Laura Schofegger, and Denmark's
Christian Peter Lubeck, who crews for Lin Ea Cenholt. Both have
moved from the skiff fleet but have shown real potential in their
new class. Delle-Karth claimed bronze in Miami and Lubeck matched
that with a bronze at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia.

Great Britain's Dylan Fletcher-Scott and Stuart Bithell took
49er gold in the USA but were beaten by compatriots James Peters
and Fynn Sterritt at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia who took the title
to ensure the British Skiff battle continues with both teams in
Hyères 49er fleet.

Spain's Diego Botin and Iago Marra will again look to push for
medals and will be joined in the hunt by Germany's Erik Heil and
Thomas Ploessel who claimed bronze at Rio 2016.

Stand out names in the 49erFX are the darlings of Brazilian
sailing, Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze. With Olympic gold and a
win at the World Cup Series Miami it is hard not to hang the tag of
favourites around their neck.

Other Miami medallists on the start line are Argentina's
Victoria Travascio and Maria Branz who will look to upgrade their
bronze from round 1.

Rio 2016 Nacra 17 bronze medallist, Austria's Tanja Frank,
continues her transition from the Nacra 17 to the 49erFX partnering
Lorena Abicht and will be joined by another Olympic multihull
sailor, Aruba's Nicole van der Velden. Van de Velden has teamed up
with Odile van Aanholt who has a silver Youth Olympic Games medal
to her credit from Nanjing 2014.

There is a strong home nation presence in the Men's RS:X with
Rio 2016 bronze medallist Pierre Le Coq, World Cup Series Miami
winner Louis Giard and 2016 European Champion Thomas Goyard all
competing.

Yoav Omer (ISR) dominated the RS:X field in Auckland, New
Zealand to take the 2016 Aon Youth Sailing World Championship and
will be a strong contender if he can take that form in to this
senior competition. Pawel Tarnowski (POL) is also coming off the
back of a win in Palma, Majorca, Spain at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia
and is expected to be at the front of the fleet.

From the Men's Youth Worlds champion to the Women's where the
RS:X line up will have the three most recent Youth Worlds champions
aiming for more senior glory. Great Britain's Emma Wilson took the
2016 title and will be joined by Stefania Elfutina (RUS) who won
gold at youth level in 2014 and 2015 before going on to claim
bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Wilson and Elfutina's predecessor, 2013 Youth Worlds champion,
Yunxiu Lu (CHN) will try to win back to back World Cup Series gold
medals after taking the win in Miami while the silver medallist on
that occasion, Spain's Marina Alabau, will do her best to upgrade
and top the podium ahead of her Chinese rival.

The Formula Kites will join the Olympic classes in Hyères and
will be spearheaded by France's very own World Champion Maxime
Nocher. Nocher will be joined by a host of countrymen who will have
to contend with sailors from around the world like Germany's
Florian Gruber and Canada's Catherine Dufour to take a gold medal
on home soil.

Racing begins in Hyères, France on the 23 April and concludes
with two days of LIVE Medal Races on 29 and 30 April 2017.